With four losses in six games, Hornets Coach Byron Scott did not expect to see his players in a good mood during Monday's practice at the Alario Center.

So maybe it came as no surprise to Scott that with a team on edge, there was a scuffle, a dodging of reporters and a frustrated forward looking for answers. Not necessarily in that order.

Near the end of an extended full scrimmage, forward/guard Rasual Butler and guard Morris Peterson exchanged words and eventually had to be separated. When practice ended, forward David West and point guard Chris Paul left without speaking to anyone. And forward Peja Stojakovic still appeared to be flustered from his 1-for-5 shooting performance for three points in Saturday's 91-82 loss to the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.

"None of us enjoy losing," Peterson said. "Once you get used to winning, you just want for it to continue. We're not in a state of emergency, but we are on the edge and went at each other hard in practice."

Things got testy between Peterson and Butler during the scrimmage after Butler fouled Peterson pretty hard. Butler said some guys might have come to practice agitated, but it's all about trying to win games.

When Peterson and Butler were on the sideline, they briefly exchanged words before they sat on opposite ends of the bench.

"Guys are a little testy, a little frustrated," said a smiling Scott. "I've got to stand on the side now between guys just so they won't get up and mess with each other. I've got to be a security guard. But we are just two games worst than what we were last year."

The record might not be much worse, but at times the play seems to be. The Hornets' scoring and field-goal shooting hasn't been up to the standards they set last season.

West has been unable to hit his mid-range shots consistently after breaking open on pick-and-pop plays initiated at the top of the key. Stojakovic has been unable to avoid poor starts.

In last week's 93-86 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Stojakovic missed his first eight attempts and finished with 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting. He is averaging 12.1 points but shooting 37.4 percent from the field. Fifty-four of his 91 shots are from 3-point range. Stojakovic has gone to the free-throw line 11 times.

"We haven't played good basketball the last couple of games," Stojakovic said. "I particularly haven't played well, and I need to be more aggressive and involved."

Scott said after Monday's practice he made some minor adjustments to provide more ball movement to attack defenses better. When the Hornets opened the season with three consecutive victories, they were one of the league's highest scoring teams with a 106.7 average. After six games, they are averaging 98.3 points, which ranks 24th in the 30-team league.

"We're just trying to get better, individually and as a team," Butler said. "The better I get, and each individual gets, makes our team better. We had a longer practice today, and coach made some teaching points toward things we need to get better at. We understand that had we did something better in each of those games we lost, the outcome would have been different."

The Hornets have not scored more than 89 points in five of their previous six games. Only one was a win, the 87-82 victory against Portland. In that game, the Hornets made 7 of 18 shots in the third quarter.

Against the Rockets, the Hornets were unable to overcome a 15-point second quarter. During a stretch, they missed nine consecutive shots that allowed the Rockets to build a 17-point lead.

"I keep trying to tell myself to look at the big picture -- it's a long season," Hornets point guard Chris Paul said after the Houston game. "But we've got to start making strides in the right direction. Even with the games we've won, they all been grind-it-out, and I think we have a team that can put teams away early. But it's not panic mode. We're 5-4, and it's still early in the season.

"The good thing about this team is that we aren't like a bunch of young guys. Last year, I don't know what our record was at this time, but that's why we expect so much of ourselves."

Last season, the Hornets won seven of their first nine games. Now they have higher expectations. Unlike last season, the Hornets won't be the feel-good story, or an underdog after winning a franchise-record 56 games. This year's team is considered one of the top teams in the Western Conference.

Fortunately, they catch a break starting with Wednesday's game at the New Orleans Arena against the Sacramento Kings (4-7), who have lost two in a row. Co-owner Joe Maloof has questioned the job being done by Coach Reggie Theus.

On Friday and Saturday, the Hornets have back-to-back games against the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-9), who have lost seven in a row. Next Monday, New Orleans plays the Los Angeles Clippers, another struggling franchise near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, who have lost six of seven games at the Staples Center.

"I've got so much faith in these guys, and we are going to get it together on the offensive end," Scott said. "It hasn't clicked yet. It's so hard to simulate game situations in practice when you have three days in between every game. It does make it tougher to get into a rhythm.

"But the fact that the guys were angry with each other today, they are out there about to go to blows, shows me they care. But we are not even a fourth of the way in the season; we have a long way to go."